Lincoln Discussion Symposium
Assassination Trivia - Printable Version

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RE: Assassination Trivia - Dave Taylor - 10-10-2015 09:13 AM

(10-10-2015 09:06 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  A person who is part of the Lincoln assassination saga became quite ill at this location. Who was he or she?

[Image: whogotsickhere.jpg]

Is this the asylum that Major Rathbone was committed to in Germany?


RE: Assassination Trivia - RJNorton - 10-10-2015 09:16 AM

Excellent guess, Dave, but that's not it.


RE: Assassination Trivia - Eva Elisabeth - 10-10-2015 09:50 AM

Doesn't really look European to me - however, John Surratt?


RE: Assassination Trivia - L Verge - 10-10-2015 09:59 AM

I'm pretty sure that is The Castle portion of the original Smithsonian Institution in D.C., but I have no idea who got sick there. A wild guess (without Kathy's book to help me) is site of Mr. Petersen's death?


RE: Assassination Trivia - RJNorton - 10-10-2015 10:06 AM

Excellent guess, Eva, but Laurie is correct. Kudos, Laurie. It was on the grounds of the Smithsonian where William Petersen ingested too much laudanum during a drinking spree. The police found him and took him to a guardhouse. Two doctors tried to save his life but failed. This was on Saturday night, June 17, 1871. An inquest was held, and the verdict was that William Petersen died of an "overdose of laudanum taken through mistake." However, the New York Times deemed it a suicide.

Thanks to Kathy's book for the above information.

Laurie, you win best wishes for a nice weekend.


RE: Assassination Trivia - RJNorton - 10-10-2015 02:00 PM

It seems that numerous folks in the Lincoln assassination saga did some drinking on April 14th, 1865.

One of the folks drank so much that another person said this person was "full as a tick?"

Who was described as being "full as a tick?"


RE: Assassination Trivia - STS Lincolnite - 10-10-2015 02:11 PM

(10-10-2015 02:00 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  It seems that numerous folks in the Lincoln assassination saga did some drinking on April 14th, 1865.

One of the folks drank so much that another person said this person was "full as a tick?"

Who was described as being "full as a tick?"

Was it Atzerodt?


RE: Assassination Trivia - RJNorton - 10-10-2015 02:21 PM

Scott, that is certainly a logical guess, but it's not Atzerodt who was so described by another person.


RE: Assassination Trivia - STS Lincolnite - 10-10-2015 03:18 PM

Laura Keene. I came across the description by chance just now while paging through "Lincoln's Final Hours".


RE: Assassination Trivia - RJNorton - 10-10-2015 03:57 PM

Kudos, Scott! That is correct. And you used the same source I did. Callboy/actor Will Ferguson said Laura Keene was "Full as a tick."

You win best wishes for a nice weekend (and a drink of your choice).


RE: Assassination Trivia - STS Lincolnite - 10-10-2015 04:54 PM

Thanks Roger. I think, after my recent visit to Lincoln, IL, my drink of choice will be watermelon juice.


RE: Assassination Trivia - RJNorton - 10-13-2015 11:16 AM

Ned Spangler was found guilty of aiding Booth's escape from Ford's Theatre. What was the commission's vote in finding Spangler guilty of this?


RE: Assassination Trivia - Anita - 10-13-2015 12:10 PM

Five voted for hanging and four voted life in prison at hard labor.


RE: Assassination Trivia - RJNorton - 10-13-2015 12:41 PM

Anita, the book I used (Tony Pitch's) only says the vote was 5-4 in finding Spangler guilty of aiding and abetting Booth's escape. So I wasn't sure if this was the same situation Mudd was in (his vote was also 5-4 with a 2/3 majority needed to hang him). So, you found that Spangler also missed hanging by one vote? (I had assumed by the way Pitch worded it that 5 had voted for the 6-year hard labor sentence, not hanging, for Spangler). Hopefully, we can clarify.


RE: Assassination Trivia - L Verge - 10-13-2015 01:41 PM

I would love to know how to confirm Tony's information. I have been searching books and online ever since you posted the question to find a definite answer. The trial transcripts, of course, don't give you the vote make-up. So far, the closest I have come was Kauffman's American Brutus, where he specifically gives the votes against Arnold, O'Laughlen, and Mudd as 5-4 and those involving the death penalty as two-thirds majority. In the case of Spangler, however (like everyone else!), Mike just says, "He received a six-year sentence."

My guess is that, if you were guilty of anything, the vote was 5-4. If you deserved to die, it was 6-3. If by any slim chance there had been someone declared innocent, the vote would have been 4-5 or less???